When Worlds Collide
by errobotter
Summary: AU, set after the Quidditch World cup and during the events of KH2. A village is destroyed and a boy is found by a trio of travelers who are on a quest to find their friend together they set of on a battle against the forces of evil.
1. Introductions

Hey there, my life has been pretty busy so I haven't had a lot of time to write. I'm publishing this to see if there is any interest in the concept. If there is then I will try to update again soon. Happy reading, I hope that you enjoy it!

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Billowing smoke from a village that had become an inferno numbed Harry's senses and distracted him from his mission. His mission, what was that again? He stumbled through debris as he tried to escape the murderous cloud but, no matter how many steps he took, he was denied the freedom he sought. Although his body cried out for rest, Harry knew that he could not stop.

The jets of light that had started the fires had continued to ripple through the haze like treacherous multi-colored lightning bolts. An emerald green jet of light flew over Harry's right shoulder causing a new fire to erupt. Harry lost his balance when he threw his momentum away from the blaze and was unable to prevent his head from smashing into an overturned cart that had not yet ignited. Digging deep, the young man was able to pull himself to hits feet and continue his escape.

Each step was labored and became more difficult; the lack of oxygen and head injury made Harry dizzy and lethargic. Still, he persevered and after several long, stumbling minutes he could begin to make out a light through the thickening smoke that shone to boom like a beacon. Battling the urge to give into sleep, Harry pressed forward as he sought the light. Several more minutes pass and his steps become still more labored, yet he still finds strength to drag one foot in front of the other while continuing his march.

Just as Harry's strength faltered, he broke through the smoke and was able to gaze upon the beacon that he had followed. Shining proudly above all the carnage was a skull with a snake winding out of its mouth. In the last seconds before he lost conscientiousness, Harry was struck by a powerful sense of unease.

_Hours later…_

"…but he's done nothing wrong. We can't just leave him here!"

"Sora, we don't know him…" one voice answered.

"He could be dangerous," another voice quacked.

"That may be so, but I think we need to give him a chance. Besides, with the three of us together there is nothing we can't do." Sora assured his comrades.

"Sora's right, all for one and one for all!" exclaimed the first voice.

"Aw, phooey," responded the third voice in reluctant acceptance. The conversation had roused Harry from his slumber and the young man began to panic when he opened his eyes and was greeted by darkness.

"My eyes, I can't see," Harry shouted as he attempted to raise his arms his face. However, no matter how he struggled, his arms would not budge. "What's going on? Why can't I move my arms? Who are you?"

"Calm down, we don't want to hurt you. We'll take turns answering questions. I'm Sora, I'm on a quest to find my friends. What's your name?"

Harry wriggled into a sitting before he responded, "I'm Harry, Harry Potter. I'm also on a mission but I can't remember what that mission is." Harry's admission caused Sora to raise his eyebrows and exchange looks with Donald and Goofy. "I heard three voices, who else is there and why can't I move my arms?"

"Donald and Goofy are my partners, we travel from place to place helping when were can. You can't move your arms because Donald cast a gravity spell which attracts your arms to your body. We just have to be sure that you aren't going to attack us like the group we fought when we arrived here. You don't seem like the type to attack innocent people but we don't know how to distinguish the members of that group from the run-of-the-mill citizen," Sora explained. "Do too know of anything that could help us?"

Harry's face scrunched in concentration, he appeared to be thinking very hard. "I can't remember. Every time that I start to think about ways to identify that group my mind goes blank. I feel like a part of me is missing but I don't know what part."

"Aw, shucks. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find that missing part in time," Goofy assured as he removed the blindfold that had been covering Harry's eyes. Harry blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the midday sun. Once he could see again, his eyes focused on his captors and his jaw dropped. Standing next to a boy, who seemed to be about Harry's age with spiky, light brown hair, blue eyes, black clothes, and yellow shoes, there was a man-sized dog with droopy ears dressed as a knight who held a shield and a four foot tall duck that carried a sturdy-looking staff with a series of spheres that resembled a water molecule on the top. "Donald and Goofy... You're not humans?"

"Goofy here," indicated the dog. "and we're guilty as charged but it isn't what's on the outside that's important."

"Yeah, it's what's on the inside!" Donald agreed with a wink.

"Well, thanks for helping me. Can you remove the spell holding my arms? I promise that I won't try anything."

Donald looked to Sora who nodded in consent before tapping Harry's chest with the end of his staff. The moment the staff made contact, Harry felt his binding release. "Thank you. You said earlier that you traveled from place to place helping people, could I travel with you? Maybe I can find what I've lost along the way."

Sora's toothy grin gave way to a small frown as he contemplated Harry's question. "Harry, I really hope that you find what you're looking for but it may not be possible for you to come with us."

Harry opened his mouth to protest but was silenced when Sora held out his right hand and, after a burst of light, materialized a a sword shaped like a key. "This is a keyblade, because of it I can safely travel where other people can't. It protects me and those who travel with me from accidentally causing irreparable damage. Unfortunately, it can only protect three people at a time. We can't take risks; the first time that someone traveled without the protection of a keyblade resulted in a world being destroyed and the heartless being freed."

Harry was utterly perplexed by Sora's explanation. "A world being destroyed? Heartless? What are you talking about? The world is fine..."

"Harry?" Donald prompted. "You still there?"

"Uh, yeah. It happened. I said something and my mind went blank," Harry answered. "What were we talking about?"

Sora cast quick glances at Donald and Goofy before he replied. "Nevermind, where were you going Harry? There doesn't seem to be much around here."

Harry looked at the keyblade in Sora's hand as he contemplated. "I'm not really sure, now that you ask."

"It's ok, you can come with us," Goofy supplied in a cheerful tone. Sora's head snapped toward Goofy. "Aw shucks, we can't just leave him alone."

Sora and Donald shared an exasperated look before Sora turned hits attention back to Harry. "How about we travel together until we get you somewhere safe?"

"Thanks, that sounds great."

"One more thing, Donald found a stick on you that he could tell had been used for magic. Are you some sort of sorcerer or magician?" Sora asked.

Harry's face set in concentration before relaxing. "I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

Donald moved close to Sora and lifted his staff toward the sky. "Cure" A green light emanated from the tip of the staff and green glow of the same shade surrounded Harry's body.

Harry flexed his arms experimentally before standing up and declaring, "I feel great. How did you do that?"

"A-hyuck, with magic," answered Goofy. "Donald is the leader of the king's magicians."

"Wow, thank you. I feel better than ever."

"Harry, can you tell me what this is used for?" Donald asked while pulling Harry's wand from a pocket inside his robes.

Once again, all expression was erased from Harry's face. "I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

"Harry, when we found you, you were unconscious about a mile away from the ruins of a small village. Can you remember how you ended up there," questioned Sora.

"I remember running through a really thick fog that seemed like it went forever. I knew they if I stopped I wouldn't make it, so I ran until I escaped. There was a light that I was chasing that showed me the way to run."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy exchanged looks while they processed Harry's answer. Goofy's brow furrowed before he asked, "Where was the light coming from?"

"The last thing I remember is a symbol that has been burned into my mind. A skull with a snake coming out of it's mouth shone brightly I'm the sky."

"That doesn't sound very nice," Goofy stated bluntly.

"No, we'll have to be on the lookout for people with that mark," added Sora.

"It felt evil," Harry said with a shudder.

"Ok, we'll keep our eyes open but we should get moving. Harry, where do you leave?" questioned Sora.

"I used to live in a place called Hogwarts but I haven't lived there in years. I live at a place called Grimmauld Place in northwest London, England. I can't explain it, but I know that we can't go to either place."

"Ok, Harry. Anyway, let's start moving. I'm getting antsy from the lack of action," declared Sora. The others nod and follow Sora's lead. Looking over his shoulder, he then adds, "I wonder why we have been brought here; hopefully we don't run into any of the members of Organization XIII. By the looks of that village there is already enough evil here, hopefully they don't show up and start causing more problems."


	2. The Path Less Traveled By

**AN: I'm continuing this story slightly earlier than I expected because my sister is awesome and encouraged me to stick with it.**

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Since their initial meeting, Harry, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had followed the path leading away from the ruined village. Harry would still have the occasional memory lapse but, while they were traveling, he had managed to create bonds with his new friends. He had been awestruck as the trio relayed tales of the journey that had caused their paths to cross. As he walked, Harry looked up to the sky as he contemplated what it would be like to be able to travel to the distant places that, though different, were united by the same sky.

"So, do you think that village's destruction has something to do with that Organization that you mentioned?" Harry mused while looking to Sora. Although Donald and Goofy brought wisdom to the group, Sora's intuition was the driving force. The young man had overcome adversity and faced ultimate evil in his quest to prevent the evil Ansem from claiming the power of Kingdom Hearts.

Sora came to a stop and put his hands behind his head before letting out a long whistle. "As much as I wish that it wasn't the case, it seems likely. The Organization preys upon the evil within people's hearts and uses that evil in order to tip the scale towards darkness." Sora removed his hands from his head and clenched his fist. "That's where we come in."

"A-hyuck, we're the light that balances out the darkness," supplied Goofy.

"If the Organization is here, we'll stop them!" proclaimed Donald.

Sora and Goofy nodded in agreement while Harry silently accepted the declaration. The group continued following the path in silence until they reached a fork where the path split.

"So, which way do we go?" Goofy vocalized the question that was on each of their minds.

"Let's take a vote," prompted Donald. "I say right!"

"I agree with Donald, let's go right," Sora added.

"Shucks, I think we should go left," Goofy stated while looking down the path that led to the right.

"I agree with Goofy," Harry said, which caused the other three members of the group to turn towards him. "Something is telling me that I need to walk that path."

Sora once again put his arms behind his head before responding. "It looks like we have a tie. Donald, Goofy, I think we're going to have to show Harry how we handle ties."

Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement and advanced upon Harry with calculating looks upon their faces. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy were close enough to reach out and touch Harry with their hands they pulled their arms back as if they were going to punch their new friend. Harry was frozen with incredulity and didn't even attempt to protect himself.

"Rock," yelled Sora.

"Scissors," shouted Goofy.

"Paper," screamed Donald.

"Shoot," the trio exclaimed together while thrusting their fists toward the center of the circle.

"Ya-hoo!" Goofy whooped in jubilation as he crushed Sora and Donald's 'scissors' with his 'rock.'

"Aw phooey," pouted Donald.

"Alright, it looks like we go left. Hopefully we find a village soon. I'm starving and we are almost out of food" Sora lamented as he started walking toward the path on the left.

"Well, we are about to find out," Harry answered with a grin.

The group continued walking and eventually entered a thickly wooded area. The leaves of the trees blocked out almost all of the sun's light and caused night to fall early for the travelers. After hours of fighting through bramble and spider webs an unnatural fog crept along the ground. The fog made the already treacherous forest seem much more foreboding.

"Ah!" Harry yelped when his foot found no purchase and was swallowed into the ground. As hard as he fought against the suction, Harry could not free himself. The young man became increasingly frantic as Sora, Donald, and Goofy continued walking, seemingly unaware of Harry's plight. "Sora, Donald, Goofy! Help me!"

The trio did not heed Harry's pleas. After several agonizing moments, Harry knew that he was alone. In the time that it took for Harry to realize that his friends either could not or would not help him, both of his legs had been ensnared and he continued to sink. As the seconds passed Harry sank deeper. Although it seemed to be in vain, Harry continued to struggle against what seemed to be an inevitable fate.

With each passing second, Harry sank deeper. It took only seconds for Harry to be completely enveloped. However, a strange thing happened once Harry's body had been swallowed. The boy fell for an indeterminate amount of time at an unfathomable rate and landed on his back on a platform. Once he awoke, Harry rubbed his eyes and looked perplexed. Somehow he had survived the fall and found himself in an unfamiliar setting. As Harry stumbled to his feet there was a great rustling sound was caused by thousands of doves taking flight.

Harry crossed his arms in front of his face braced himself to protect himself from the birds. Once the air had cleared Harry removed his arms from his face and gasped. On one side of the platform was a depiction of Harry. On the other side were five pictures; the first three were very easy for Harry to identify because they contained the faces of Sora, Donald, and Goofy while the other two were more difficult. In one of the other circles the smiling face of a beautiful girl with a charming smile and curly brown hair.

Harry walked over to the depiction of the girl and stood there with a puzzled look on her face. "Who are you?" Harry asked, clearly not expecting an answer. After a few moments he moved onto the last image. It showed the image on a smiling boy with three marks that looked like whiskers on each of his cheeks. Based on Harry's expression this last image was just as perplexing as the previous image.

Harry was not given much time to contemplate the images as three pedestals materialized on the platform and a booming voice declared, "_Power sleeps within you… If you give it form… it will give you strength_." Harry's gaze darted back and forth between the pedestals that had just appeared. On the first pedestal was a sword with a golden cross-guard and a red jewel shaped like a mouse's head set in the center. On the second pedestal there was a green staff with that same mouse-like shape adorning the top. On the final pedestal there was a black shield with the mouse-like emblem proudly displayed in the center. "_Choose well_."

Harry initially walked toward the sword. When he was close the voice sounded again, "_The power of the warrior, invincible courage; sword of terror and destruction. Is that the power you seek?_" Harry paused before shaking his head and walking toward the staff. Once again, when he was close enough to touch the pedestal the voice called out to him. "_The power of the mystic, inner strength; a staff of wonder and ruin. Is that the power you seek?_" Seemingly of its own accord, Harry's hand reached out and grasped the staff.

There was a flash of light before the staff disappeared. "_Your path is set. What will you give up in return?_" Once again, Harry's body seemed to move of its own volition. Harry gave up the Warrior's Sword and chose to keep the Shield of the Defender. After Harry gave up the power of the warrior there was another bright light and he was left alone on the platform which had begun to shatter. Once more Harry was falling through the darkness.

Moments, minutes, or days later Harry landed with a thud.

"Harry, wake up," Sora's voice called out.

"He's out like a light," Donald verified.

"I hope he's ok," Goofy added thoughtfully.

"Uh," moaned Harry. "What… What just happened?"

"You passed out while we were making our way through the forest," answered Sora.

"Yeah and, no matter what we did, we couldn't wake you up," explained Goofy.

"I just had the strangest dream," Harry mumbled as he rubbed his head. "I wonder what that was all about."

"Well, sleepyhead, while you were asleep we got out of the forest." Goofy replied.

"And look! We found a village!" Donald indicated while sweeping his wing in the direction of a village on the horizon.

Upon seeing the village Harry leapt to his feet and asked, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Goofy let out a throaty chuckle. "We were waiting for you, Harry."

Harry's face tinted red in embarrassment. "Oh, erm… Thanks for that."

"You're our friend, of course we'll wait for you," assured Donald.

"It's good to have you back, Harry. I agree that we should get a move on. Are you ok to move?" asked Sora.

Harry tested his limbs experimentally before giving a thumb's up in affirmation.

Sora smiled and returned the gesture to Harry. "Glad to hear it. Donald, Goofy, are you two ready?"

The two looked at each other conspiratorially before breaking into a sprint in the direction of the town. "Last one there is a rotten egg!" they shouted back at Harry and Sora.

Harry and Sora exchanged a quick glance before breaking into a sprint in pursuit of their friends.

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**AN2: The awakening sequence from Kingdom Hearts was perfect and I didn't want to corrupt it. All credit for that sequence goes to the producers and script-writers of that amazing franchise.**

**AN3: Please Review!  
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	3. The Tails of an Eerie Village

**AN: Here is the next exciting installment. If anyone is worrying that Harry does not have a large enough role in this story, worry not. His role is meant to expand in time, I'm working on character development techniques. So let me know how I'm doing. I live for reviews!**

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"No fair, I wasn't ready!" squawked Donald.

"Uh Donald, it was your idea," countered a confused looking Goofy.

"Ah, phooey!" huffed Donald in recognition of his defeat. "I thought I could at least beat Harry..."

"What's that supposed to mean," Harry voiced his indignation.

"It means that Donald bit off more than he could chew," Sora chuckled. "He'll get over it."

"I wonder where all the people are," Goofy thought out loud.

The village was small, perhaps only 50 buildings. The vast majority of the buildings appeared to be residential so it was easy to pick out the school, the jailhouse, and the general store. Besides being labeled respectively, these buildings dwarfed the one-story buildings that were, presumably, people's homes.

"Yeah, it's too quiet," Donald agreed.

"A village this quiet never bodes well," commented Sora. "Let's split up and see if we can find anyone. Sora, come with me, we'll check out the jailhouse. Donald and Goofy can take check out the school. If you find something interesting, send up sparks and head to the general store. Everyone needs to be on the lookout for sparks in case we need back-up."

With that, the group separated. Harry and Sora would search the village the police department and the surrounding area while Donald and Goofy searched the school and the houses in the vicinity.

Sora and Harry sense of unease increased with each knock that went on answered. By the time they arrived at the jailhouse Harry's jaw was clenched in suspense.

"Let's see what's inside," Sora prompted while opening the door to the jailhouse. "Come on, Harry."

"Ok, hopefully we find…" Harry started speaking only to stop short at the scene that lay before him. A trail of blood could be traced back to corpse of a man who had been gored at the reception desk. The man was marred by four deep gashes that completely destroyed his facial structure and it appeared that his throat had been ripped out. Upon seeing the condition of the man, Harry promptly bent over and emptied the contents of his stomach while Sora summoned his Keyblade.

"Harry, stay alert and keep behind me," Sora directed once Harry had recovered. "Who or whatever did this may still be here."

Harry nodded and silently fell into position behind Sora. Together, the pair made their way through the hallways. While the majority of the rooms were empty several had the corpses of individuals that had similarly deep lacerations on their faces and throats. To spare Harry the graphic scenes and the time that it took Harry to recover after purging, Sora took it upon himself to check the rooms.

As the pair drew closer to the last room of the jailhouse they heard some commotion. Sora raised his Keyblade, anticipating the need to defend himself and Harry from the monster that had slaughtered the people who had been inside the jail. He slid along the wall until he was right next to the final door and in one smooth motion pivoted his body to face the door while kicking his leg out just above the door handle to force the door open.

Sora expected to find the aggressor but had instead opened the door to the cell that had contained the prisoners. Sora held his arm out to prevent Harry from looking into the room but was too slow. Harry looked upon the scene of carnage in disgust. The bodies of the prisoners had been mutilated even further than the bodies of their captors. None of the prisoners' bodies were intact; some had one or both arms removed, others were missing legs, and a few had even been decapitated.

"Who would do such a thing?" Harry asked in a lifeless voice. "It's horrible."

"I don't know, but let's not stick around to find out. I don't want Donald and Goofy taking this thing on alone, so let's get out of here." Sora answered as he closed the door and turned his body to walk back to the entrance. Sora began walking but Harry did not immediately follow. "Are you just going to stand there all day? Let's get going!"

"Right," Harry agreed as he hurried to catch up to Sora. Their return to the reception desk was brisk and uneventful. Harry reached the door first and threw his body against the crash bar as if it would allow him to escape the memories of the death that he had seen within the jailhouse. Sora quickly followed and the pair angled themselves so their path would take them to the church, where they planned to meet with Donald and Goofy. After ten minutes of walking through the eerily quiet town, Harry and Sora reached the general store. With sharp movement, Sora materialized his Keyblade, pointed it toward the sky, and released a torrent of green sparks before dropping his arm to his side and allowing the Keyblade to vanish with a flash of light.

The sparks shot into the sky and cast an eerie green glow on the area in front of the general store where Harry and Sora stood. From a distant part of the village the sparks elicited a pained cry. As the seconds passed the sound increased in its intensity, as if whatever was making the sound was coming closer… and it was.

With a cracking sound a blood-red bolt rocketed through the sparks and crashed into the general store. There was a hole where the blood-red meteor had collided with the building. After several seconds a foxlike creature appeared and jumped down to the stand opposite Harry and Sora in front of the store. It was slightly smaller than Sora while standing on its hind legs with white, lifeless eyes and four tails swaying behind it. On one of its shoulders was a heart-shaped symbol that flared out at the bottom, it was divided into four parts by an 'x' and on the other shoulder was a trident with blades separated by 45 degree angles set atop an overturned heart.

Sora was locked in a stare-down with the evil creature and it was evident that the boy did not want to appear weak by breaking that contact. In an attempt to signal that Harry should stay behind him, Sora flicked his left wrist backwards. Harry saw Sora's gesture and moved to comply but apparently the movement was the trigger that the blood-red beast was looking for because it launched itself at Sora.

Harry marveled that Sora had been able to call upon the Keyblade and block the creature's attack so quickly. The creature's claws were latched onto the blade as it attempted to break through Sora's guard and Sora's teeth we clenched with determination. As the seconds passed, the creature was slowly succeeding in moving the object that separated it from its target. With a monumental heave, Sora was able to separate himself from his assailant and raise the Keyblade to defend himself once again. The creature leaped and swiped one of its paws at Sora's head but Sora anticipated the attack and ducked while swinging the Keyblade horizontally to land a heavy blow on the creature's ribs.

The force of the blow knocked the creature to the side and caused it to roll. Harry had been frozen as he watched the battle but now realized that the blow had caused the creature to reconsider attacking Sora and turn its attention to the other human in the courtyard, Harry. Harry locked eyes with the creature and his face set with determination, he trusted his reflexes to dodge the creature's blows until Sora could intervene. The creature launched itself at Harry in the same way that it initially attacked Sora. Harry was able to roll to the side and avoid the creature's assault, but it was evident that he was still in danger.

The creature turned and swiped one set of dagger-like claws at Harry only to be frustrated again when the boy was able to jump over the swipe, while placing one hand on the creature's back and simultaneously flipping and twisting in midair to land, facing the creature once more. The creature began to circle Harry in what appeared to be an attempt to find a weakness. Since it was so intently focused on Harry, Sora was able to crouch down before rocketing toward the creature and bashing it again with the Keyblade.

The creature had apparently had enough because with a howl it pulled itself from the ground and beat a hasty retreat. Harry's body started to shake as the adrenaline that had fueled him during the bout had become exhausted. "That must have been what attacked the jailhouse," Harry panted.

"It had the symbol for the Heartless on one shoulder and the symbol of Organization XIII on the other shoulder. Whatever it was, I have a feeling that we will be seeing it again," Sora replied. "Those were some moves that you made back there. Where did you learn to move like that?"

"I've always had good reflexes," Harry answered. "I just did what felt right. It was like I had a voice whispering in my ear telling me what I should do."

"Well, I would pay attention to that voice if you hear it again in the future. What you described is similar to how I feel when I wield the Keyblade," Sora explained. "I know that I don't have a little angel sitting on my shoulder trying to keep me safe but sometimes it feels like that."

Harry nodded attentively as he digested what Sora had just told him. "I think I'm going to need a weapon."

Sora's face broke into a grin, "The thought of you making moves like that with a weapon is epic. You would make an awesome sparring partner; you may even be able to give my friend Riku a run for his money!"

A crashing sound came from a street that fed into the courtyard and caused Harry and Sora to assume defensive positions. The mood was tense and their anxiety was tangible as the rumbling sound grew closer. Donald and Goofy fell into the courtyard with a cacophony of sound. When the dirt cleared and the stars stopped circling around their heads the pair hastily made their way to Harry and Sora.

"It was terrible," squawked Donald while shaking his head back and forth violently.

"Part of the school was destroyed…" sniffled Goofy. "And the children… all of them… there was no mercy."

"That's terrible, it must have been the creature that attacked us," reasoned Sora

"It felt evil," Harry remembered with a shudder. "I remember the marks on the bodies at the jailhouse. That creature needs to be stopped."

"The two of us were enough to make it retreat," Sora recalled. "Next time we'll be ready and it won't get away again."

"We protect those who can't protect themselves," declared Goofy in a serious voice while wiping cartoonish tears away from his eyes.

"If Organization XIII has something to do with this slaughter then it looks like we will be sticking around longer than we expected," added Sora. An evil glint appeared in his eye before he continued, "This means that we will have plenty of time for training."

Harry looked at his peer quizzically; it was clear that he didn't know what he agreed to when he was talking about training with Sora.


End file.
